Italian Wedding Soup

Ingredients

• ½ lb ground beef and ½ lb ground pork (or 1 lb meatball mix)
• 1 egg
• ⅓ cup fine breadcrumbs
• ⅓ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more to serve
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, 2 carrots and 2 celery ribs, finely diced
• 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• ¾ cup acini di pepe or orzo
• 5 oz baby spinach or chopped escarole
• Salt and black pepper

Instructions

1. 01

   Roll the meatballs small. Mix the meat, egg, breadcrumbs, Parmigiano, parsley, garlic, ½ teaspoon salt and some pepper with your hands until just combined. Roll into 1-inch meatballs — about the size of a grape — and chill while you start the soup.

2. 02

   Build the broth. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium. Cook the onion, carrot and celery 6 minutes until soft, then add the broth and bring to a gentle boil.

3. 03

   Poach the meatballs. Lower the meatballs into the simmering broth and cook 8 minutes without stirring hard, so they stay round and tender.

4. 04

   Cook the pasta. Stir in the acini di pepe and simmer 8 to 10 minutes until tender and the meatballs are cooked through.

5. 05

   Add the greens. Stir in the spinach or escarole for 1 to 2 minutes until wilted. Season and serve with more Parmigiano.

Larry’s rule: If you plan on leftovers, cook the pasta separately and add it to each bowl — otherwise it drinks up the broth overnight. A Parmigiano rind simmered in the broth adds a lot of flavor for free.